Review

Gorguts. Not many people know the name despite how influential they have been on the death metal scene. The band are one of the first bands to blend death metal with avant-garde music to create one of the most unique albums ever entitled Obscura. Before they were doing this, however, the band was refining a more traditional death metal sound with their first two albums, the first of which was called Considered Dead.

This is an album that shows off the band's ability to play a variety of tempos whilst still remaining within the constraints of the death metal genre and never really experimenting. By doing this, they created a masterpiece that transcends all normal boundaries of what would constitute a good album.

Take the title track as an example. This song is a three and a half minute slice of nothing more than death metal goodness with one of the most varied riff-sets you will find anywhere in music. There are fast riffs, slow riffs and everything in between, all complimented by one of the most interesting drum performances out there. The solo is absolutely incredible, the occasional use of pinched harmonics in the riffs keeps a lot of variety there and the vocals are absolutely brutal and chaotic and go directly for the throat. This is not a song nor an album that pulls any punches, and is content to kick you directly in the face until you beg for mercy. Gorguts' debut is arguably one of the most perfect slabs of death metal you will find.

The guitar solos are probably the best thing about Considered Dead. This is a band that can shred properly and they show it off throughout the album with solos that consistently amaze. The way that these solos are integrated seamlessly into the riff sets is something to marvel at in itself. There are a variety of techniques displayed in the solos on Considered Dead that ensures that no lightning fast shred-fest ever sounds the same as the one before it.

Another thing to note is that the production on this album is fantastic. Everything is constantly audible, with each instrument standing out for its own reasons. The constant drum fills are more than audible, whilst the bass is there thumping away in the background whilst the brutal riffs are at the front of the production, and the monstrous vocals are over the top of it all.

If there is one death metal album that you should check out, it is Considered Dead by Gorguts. Few albums have as hard-hitting a feel as this one.